Thursday, 28 March 2013

IPU Resolution on the case of Sam Rainsy

RESOLUTION ON THE CASE OF CAMBODIA'S NATIONAL ASSEMBLY MEMBER SAM RAINSY

Quito, 27 March 2013

CASE No. CMBD/01 - CASE No. CMBD/01 --- SAM RAINSY ---- CAMBODIA

The Committee,Decides to recommend to the Governing Council of the Inter-Parliamentary Union that it adopt the following resolution: The Governing Council of the Inter-Parliamentary Union, Referring
to the case of Mr. Sam Rainsy, leader of the opposition and a member of
parliament at the time of the submission of the communication, and to
the resolution it adopted at its
191st session (October 2012),Taking into account the information
provided by the Minister of Justice to the Secretary General on the
occasion of the latter’s visit to Cambodia on 21 February 2013, the
letter from the Speaker of the National Assembly dated 11 February 2013,
the letter from the Chairman of the First Commission of the National
Assembly dated 18 February 2013, and the letter from the Deputy Chief of
the Multilateral Relations Office, Assistant to the Cambodian
delegation, National Assembly, dated 4 March 2013, Recalling the following information on file: - Having had his
parliamentary immunity lifted in a closed session by a show of hands and
without being afforded the opportunity to defend himself, Mr. Sam
Rainsy was prosecuted and, in judgments handed down in January and
September 2010, sentenced to 12 years in prison and a heavy fine for:
(a) having pulled out border post #185 marking the Cambodian/Vietnamese
border in a village in Svay Rieng province and inciting racial hatred;
and (b) divulging false information by having published a map reportedly
showing a false border with Viet Nam; on 20 September 2011, the Appeal
Court reduced the prison sentence on the second count from ten to seven
years, on 25 April 2011, Mr. Sam Rainsy was found guilty in a third case
on charges of defaming Cambodian Foreign Minister Hor Namhong in 2008
and of incitement to discrimination; he was sentenced at first instance
to two years in prison and a fine, and ordered to pay compensation to
the Minister; Mr. Sam Rainsy appealed the sentence in the third case;- The verdict whereby Mr. Sam Rainsy was found guilty of destroying
public property was upheld in March 2011 by the Supreme Court, and the
National Assembly stripped Mr. Sam Rainsy of his parliamentary mandate
on 15 March 2011 by virtue of Article 34 of the Law on the Election of
Members of the National Assembly, which stipulates that members
convicted at final instance of a crime and sentenced to imprisonment
forfeit
their membership in the National Assembly,Recalling that no one
disputes the fact that the border between Viet Nam and Cambodia is
currently being demarcated, that border post #185 was a temporary wooden
post, that the Government
recognized that it was not a legal border marker, as confirmed by the
Prime Minister himself in his response to a question from Sam Rainsy
Party (SRP) parliamentarians on this matter, stating inter alia that
“because the joint technical group from the two countries has not
planted border post #185 yet, the border demarcation work, which is the
work of the joint technical group after the planting of that post, has
not started either”, and that, following the publication of the Prime
Minister’s response, Mr. Sam Rainsy
asked for a review of his sentence in the case concerning the
destruction of property and incitement to racial hatred; recalling
further that there is at present no map recognized by Viet Nam and
Cambodia as being official and binding, Recalling that, according to the members of the Cambodian delegation
heard during the 126th IPU Assembly (Kampala, March-April 2012), Mr.
Sam Rainsy should have raised his concerns regarding the border between
Viet Nam and Cambodia in the National Assembly; recalling in this regard
that, when opposition parliamentarians asked for a public
parliamentary
debate on the issue, the Government reportedly refused to take part,
arguing that it had already provided all necessary explanations in the
past,Considering that the Minister of Justice, in his meeting
with the Secretary General, said that Mr. Sam Rainsy had created a very
dangerous situation on the border when he removed the border post,
thereby putting many persons’ lives at risk, and that this was
tantamount to a serious provocation that could have endangered the
security of the country, Recalling the following: in his report of 16 July 2012 to the United
Nations Human Rights Council (A/HRC/21/63), the Special Rapporteur on
the human rights situation in Cambodia stated that “respect for
freedom of expression, opinion and assembly remains a principal concern
in Cambodia (…). It appears that many Cambodians exercise
self-censorship in what they say and
write, provoked by a fear of arrest and detention. This holds
particularly true in respect of people wishing to express views critical
of those in power (…)”, and that “a political solution should be found
to enable [Mr. Sam Rainsy], as the leader of the opposition, to play a
full role in Cambodian politics. The Special Rapporteur believes that a
concerted effort by the ruling and opposition parties towards
reconciliation is in the interests of strongand deeper democratization
of Cambodia”; in his previous report of August 2011 (A/HRC/18/46), the
Special Rapporteur expressed concern at the use of the judiciary for
political ends and had the following to say regarding the Sam Rainsy
case in particular: “The allegation made by the Government was that Mr.
Sam Rainsy had manipulated a map to show that Viet Nam had encroached on
the territory of Cambodia. In any properly functioning democracy, such
political matters should be debated in the parliament and become a
matter of public debate rather than the subject of a criminal case
before courts. Scrutinizing the activities of the Government and
requiring the Government to respond to any criticisms of its policy
decisions is one of the basic functions of the leaders of opposition
parties and they should not be subjected to criminal proceedings for
discharging their responsibilities in a peaceful manner”; the Special
Rapporteur recommended inter alia that “Parliament should safeguard the
right to freedom of expression of its own members and protect their
parliamentary immunity”, Recalling that, according to the Minister of Justice, Mr. Sam Rainsy
was not eligible for a pardon because he had challenged two of the
cases in court and those challenges remained pending, which meant that
the legal process had not yet been completed; considering that Mr. Sam
Rainsy has since withdrawn those challenges, Considering that parliamentary elections are to be held on 28 July
2013 and that, on the occasion of his visit to Cambodia, the Secretary
General discussed the IPU’s continued assistance to the National
Assembly with the parliamentary authorities he met,1. Thanks the Minister of Justice, the Speaker of the National
Assembly and the Chairman of the First Commission of the National
Assembly for their extensive cooperation;2. Considers, however,
that the information they provide does not dispel its long-standing
concerns that Mr. Sam Rainsy’s removal of temporary border markers was a
political gesture and that, consequently, the courts should never have
been seized of the
matter in the first place;3. Deeply regrets, therefore, that,
with elections drawing near, it has not been possible for Mr. Sam Rainsy
to return to Cambodia and make, as the country’s principal opposition
leader, a meaningful contribution to free and fair elections;4. Renews its call on the ruling and opposition parties to do
everything possible to work together as a matter of urgency with a view
to helping ensure that Mr. Sam Rainsy can stand as a candidate in the
elections; sincerely hopes that the fact that Mr. Sam Rainsy has
withdrawn his challenges in the two ongoing court cases will facilitate
and accelerate this outcome; 5. Calls on the soon-to-be-elected National Assembly to promote
healthy working relationships within parliament, including by ensuring
that all parties are consulted and have a say when parliament takes
major decisions, that the rights and responsibilities of the opposition
are duly upheld and that there is full respect for parliamentary
immunity; suggests that the IPU, as part of its ongoing programme of
assistance to the National Assembly, explore with the parliamentary
authorities the possibility of sharing its expertise for this purpose; 6. Requests the Secretary General to convey this resolution to the competent authorities and the sources;

7. Requests the Committee to continue examining this case and to report back to it in due course.

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